Rejection and the Gospel

Rejection. I’m sure you’ve all had to face the searing pain of rejection before. I remember my freshman year of college, which was more than a decade ago. I arrived as a wide-eyed freshman, having spent my teenage years in South America. As I began to learn the campus, the professors, and the students, I noticed a certain young lady, a junior. You could spot her across campus, not just because of her long blonde hair, but because she walked fast…everywhere. I got to meet her, through the church plant I was attending- she helped out playing piano for a few weeks as we officially launched. We spent a bit of time together, but she was very busy with her studies. I decided to ask her to the spring banquet. Well, that was the first time I asked a girl to a banquet or any other event. It was also the first time I got shot down. Rejected. Somehow we got married a few years later, but that story is for another time.

When it comes to proclaiming the gospel, we often forget that rejection is a response to the gospel. We certainly would love everyone to respond in faith to the message we proclaim about Jesus Christ. But, if the gospel is correctly articulated, it can be accepted or rejected. The message of the gospel can be rejected, along with the messenger. The gospel is not always rejected for the same reasons, and sometimes the messenger bears the brunt of the rejection.

Last week in Mark, we saw the power of Jesus on display. His power over nature. His power over any army of demons. His power over death itself. Some people trusted that power, some people were terrified of that power and asked Jesus to leave. In the first 30 verses of Mark 6, we enter a dark valley of rejection. Jesus is rejected in his own hometown. The disciples are told that their message may be rejected by whole villages. Then, John the Baptist is beheaded for his message of righteousness. Rejection was a part of the life and ministry of Jesus, and it should not surprise us we are rejected for following our Savior.

We’ll take these three accounts in order: the rejection of Jesus, the sending out of the twelve disciples, and the death of John the Baptist.

1. Rejection for being ordinary (1-6)
This is the last time Jesus teaches in a synagogue. He would have to be in favor with the rulers of the synagogue in order to teach there. The people are amazed at Jesus. Why? This Jesus is wise and powerful. How in the world did that happen? That’s Mary’s boy from down the street. We know his brothers and sisters. He’s a carpenter. What in the world happened?!

Jesus did grow up in a very small town. Probably less the 500 people. People know people. Allegany is not that small, but it is small enough, where you get to know people. As I’ve talked with those of you who grew up here, you know many people that live here. You have a feeling about them- you’ve seen what they’ve done. You’ve heard stories. This is what happened to Jesus.

Jesus quotes a parable in verse 4. This would be similar to a saying that we would use: “Familiarity breeds contempt.” Because of their lack of faith, Jesus could only do a few miracles.
Jesus was not rejected because of the content of his message. Back in Mark 2, the religious leaders that Jesus was blaspheming for claiming to forgive sins. That’s something only God can do. That’s not what happened here. They rejected Jesus, because they knew exactly where he came from…or they thought they knew. They did not call him Joseph’s son. They called him Mary’s son. They knew he was an illegitimate child. They saw him grow up. He was just an ordinary carpenter.

That can be the downside to sharing the gospel to people in your town who know you…or to your friends that went through school with you. They were there when you were 7, and angrily hit your brother with a baseball bat. They were there when you tried a cigarette in the woods behind their house. They’ve seen your mistakes. They’ve seen how your kids grew up. In their eyes, maybe you’re just an ordinary man or women who goes to church. If they see evidence of God’s grace in your life, they can just shrug, and say, “I know who you really are.” Even though you repent, and are displaying the fruit of the Spirit in your life, it doesn’t make a difference in their perspective of Christianity.

Think about this, God shows up in flesh, and his hometown rejects him for being Mary’s boy from down the street. How much more, may we get rejected, sinners saved by grace, for being the guy or lady down the street that got religion.

2. Rejection for your message (7-13, 30)
When I saw teenager, I was riding in a taxi driven by a Hindu man. Normally Hindus were easy to talk to about the gospel, because they would just want to add Jesus to their collection of gods. Some were nominal Hindus, just raised that way, but not practicing their religion. This particular cab driver, seemed to be a devoted Hindu. I remember out conversation ending like this: “Jesus is the only way to God.” “No, he’s not.” “Yes, Jesus is the only way to God.” “No, he’s not.” I don’t recommend getting into this kind of argument, especially if you are not in control of the car. Let’s face it, some people straight up reject the message of the gospel. And that’s what Jesus prepares his disciples to face.

Jesus had called the twelve disciples back in chapter 3, and they were to be with him, and to preach. They have been following him around in chapters 3-6. Now, he sends them out to do what he has been doing: preaching, casting out demons, and healing. Jesus, gives them some specific instructions.

-Live like a hobo. More, like, dress like a prophet. Don’t take extra stuff. Focus on your mission.

-Accept hospitality. It was common to put up itinerant preachers like this.

-Accept rejection. Jesus told them that whole villages may reject them and their message. They were to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them. The Jews of that day, when they would travel outside of Palestine, would shake the dust off their feet when returning their territory. What Jesus is saying, then, by your actions show that this Jewish village is heathen. A searing indictment against their rejection.
A. The gospel is rejectable
I’m afraid that some churches and Christians proclaim a distortion of the gospel that cannot be rejected. If the gospel you are proclaiming cannot be rejected, then you are not proclaiming a biblical gospel. The disciples were proclaiming the message that Jesus did- repent and believe in the gospel. In order to accept the message, you have to give up all your sins, even the pet ones. You have to stop living for yourself, and begin to follow Jesus Christ.

The gospel tells us that we must give up some very specific things in order to follow Jesus Christ a very specific way. This message can be offensive to some people. It is not natural to want to give up your way of life and start following Jesus Christ, which may cost you your comfort and even your life. Kind of tough sell.

A gospel that says that God affirms everybody regards of their lifestyle and choices, and will eventually allow everyone to get to heaven, is a gospel that is not easily rejected. It requires little from people, and offers little in return.

B. The gospel will be rejected
First, we need to make sure the gospel we proclaim is clear in what is required: repentance from sins, and faith in Jesus Christ. Secondly, we’ve got to remember, that people will reject our message. It’s heart breaking when it happens, but the testimony of Jesus and the disciples in the NT is this: the gospel can be rejected, and often is rejected.

Mark does not record the reception of the people to the disciple’s message, but they are able to cast out demons and heal. In verse 30, they return to Jesus and report to him. Here again, we have one of Mark’s sandwiches. The death of John the Baptist is the meat in the sandwich of the disciples’ mission. Why is this account right here?

3. Rejection for your morals (14-29)
The last time we heard about John the Baptist, he was thrown in prison in chapter 1. Now, in chapter 6, we get the gory details of his imprisonment and death. When King Herod of Jesus and his disciple ministry, he thought John the Baptist was raised from the dead. As the story goes on, you can see why Herod had an uneasy conscience. This Herod, was son of Herod the Great, who tried to kill Jesus when he was a baby. This Herod was Herod Antipas, who ruled over two regions in Palestine: Galilee and Perea. He was the Herod involved in the trial of Jesus. He convinced Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, to divorce her husband, so Herod and Herodias could get married. Not mentioned here, is that Herod also divorced his first wife, which did not sit well with her father, who was also a king. They eventually got into a battle, which Herod lost. If you thought we had a corner on sordid dramas in our time, it was bad back then too.

John the Baptist got very specific in his preaching about repentance. He told Herod that marrying his brother’s wife was unlawful, which is was under Jewish law. Herodias had it out for John, while Herod was amused by his preaching. If you have read the story of Ahab and Jezebel, and Jezebel’s vendetta against the prophet Elijah, you will see some parallels here.
The opportunity came when Herod had a birthday party and invited some VIPs from around the area. Bad things happen when you get a group of men together and introduce alcohol…then dancing. Herod’s promise to the dancing girl, turned deadly, when she demanded John’s head on a platter IMMEDIATELY. Without warning to John, he is beheaded, and his head is presented like a trophy.

A. Call for specific repentance
There are a few lessons we can learn from John. The first is that we must be specific in our calls for repentance. John was not content to tell Herod that he need to try better, or to improve his life. He didn’t tell him that God had better plans for him, and that God would bless him if he tried harder. He said that his marriage was unlawful. When we present the gospel and call for repentance, we are calling for people to give up specific sins. “You’ve got to give up sleeping with your boyfriend, or looking at pornography, or yelling at your wife, or swearing at work.” No, Christians are not perfect, but they are characterized by repenting of specific sins throughout the course of their lives.

One pastor said this: “Perhaps the most common reason people don’t believe in God is simply this: They don’t want anyone telling them what to do.” –Kevin DeYoung

One of the reasons people reject the gospel, is that they don’t want to give up their sin and start living a different way. John’s calling out of Herod and Herodias’s immorality was a part of his message of repentance. We call people to Christ, not merely to a moral life. But following Christ means we stop doing certain things, and begin doing other things. People will sometimes reject our morals even before they hear our message.

B. We are not promised specific answers for our suffering
The second lesson we can learn from John, is answered by another question. Why is his death recounted RIGHT HERE? Right in the middle of the mission of the disciples, we have this gory and discouraging story of the man who prepared the way for Jesus. We’ve seen it before, and will see it many more times in Mark: following Jesus involves suffering and death. John the Baptist is not an uncommon story in the sweep of biblical history. Prophets died in the OT for their message, apostles died for Christ in the NT, and Christians have been martyred throughout church history. John did not die some glorious death after staring down the enemies of Christ and proclaiming the gospel. People did not come to Jesus is droves after his death. He was rotting away in prison. He was suddenly beheaded because some woman had it out for him. The end. He is given no eulogy. He is just mentioned in passing once more in Mark.

We are not promised some glorious outcome to our suffering and death on this earth. We may die a painful death, then people will throw dirt on our casket, go back to the church, and eat potato salad. Maybe someone will hear the gospel at your funeral and be saved, but maybe not. God does not owe us some explanation for our suffering and death here on this earth. We cannot say- because this awful thing happened, God has to do this good. Our suffering as Christians has a glorious outcome, but it is not promised to us on this earth. It is to come. We are simply told that we will suffer, and glory is to follow. That is the way of the cross.